


Visitors In The Mirror

by The_Lich_Queen



Series: tales of the unexpected [46]
Category: Undertale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24307525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lich_Queen/pseuds/The_Lich_Queen
Summary: A Sans abandons his AU for the sake of his offspring, leaving behind his Papyrus. In the Null Void, other Sanses give him offers that he agrees to quickly. Now they are going to take his role while he is busy brewing his young, hopefully, the resets will have stopped by the time he returns.
Relationships: Sans/Papyrus
Series: tales of the unexpected [46]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749436
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Visitors In The Mirror

Doctor Comic Sans Serif former scientist of the Soul Department and the mad time-space quantum nerd; now known as Sans the comedian, the lazy sentry, the hog dog skeleton, weak brother to The Great Papyrus a royal guardsman in training...

A few moments ago, he was known as Sans overseer town design, brother to Papyrus the guardian of Frisk the hero of the monsters.... and... mate of Papyrus...bonded of Papyrus... married to Papyrus... soul-

Sans grips the t-shirt over his soul; the soulbound had been broken. Then he lets his arm drop beside him on his old dirty mattress; he had grown used to having a clean bed since sharing a bed with Papyrus.

Sans grabs hold of his dirty gross pillow and shoves his face into it, not caring anymore- he began screaming into it as loud as he dared.

  
A True Reset.

...

It was something he should not be able to remember.

Since a 'True Reset' was just that- it truly wiped the world clean of all Frisk's actions and everything went back to the start.

Sans glances towards the calendar hanging on the wall- It would still be six years before the little bratling falls.

The skeleton brings his hand up to his right eye, which was throbbing. It must be the time period of when the Core accident happened. Sans frowns. Surely they could not go past that mark. If that was to happen, does that mean Wingdings would return?

Groaning his arm drops once more. All those thoughts were going to make him Fall Down- he could not do that... again.

'*it's alright for them.' Sans thinks bitterly as he sits up and threw the pillow at the wall enraged, 'They reappeared as they fall. but as for me. time keeps going further and further back.'

He did not know when it started. But once Sans had full knowledge of the events happening around him, his memories stayed partly with him- Even with a True Reset. Which he was convince was a major glitch in the system.

... it grieved him deeply, knowing the things he knew... there was something that cut the deepest.

Sans covers his orbits, trying to block out the world, his thoughts spun.

He was the only one... there was no one else who knew and it was killing him slowly...

Oh he had tried.

Alphys had been the first and then Papyrus. He had hoped by explaining everything to them, that they too would break free of the eternal loop.

The pair had no idea what he was talking about.

Sans run his hands down his face, thinking hard.

Six years to go.

Normal Reset sent Sans back to the start with Frisk- but not True Resets... these were the hardest to deal with.

To unlock a True Reset, Frisk would have to have first freed monsterkind.

The monsters would learn humans were not as bad as their memories told them during wartime, still it was hard. The monsters slowly made their way out into the much bigger world above.

Papyrus would settle down, he would start to see the how the world worked clearly. While maintaining his own self, he grew up. Still believing in other but more mindful. Sans sort of mourning the loss of his little brother's innocence but at the same time was proud.

Sans tries to think, he did not know just how many True Resets actually have happened before he gained this insight. But he knew the number of ones he fully remember and not counting the normal resets that made things longer.

  
It was ten.

  
Ten memories of True Resets slammed into his soul.

  
Ten times!

The first time cut was the deepest.

The reason.

Sans remembers the lost souling he had been brewing in his rib cage.... when the True Reset took place.

He had a complete meltdown. No one understood. The pain of being ripped away from his offspring drove him mad and he killed almost the whole underground. It took any monsters to bring him down and throw him in front of the king.

King Asgore thought he could be of used for human capturing, and ordered Undyne and Papyrus to take him to Alphys until they found a way to.... tame him- the lizard had caged him in a padded room.

After a while Sans realized it would still be a couple of months before Frisk was due to arrive. When Frisk came and saw the damage Sans had done to the underground- they fought hard to make it out alive.

Asgore sent him out to get the human soul- he was only too happy to go.

Sans killed them.

They 'load' somewhere in the Ruins.

It was becoming clear to him that this was not the Frisk he knew... well it was. But it seemed that the True Reset had robbed Frisk of memories too.

Sans asked them to reset. Causing them to look at him in surprise. Then quickly they did a reset (normal one) again.

And Sans found himself a few months back.

Sans let go of his rage. Completely tired of fighting... he knew it was not going to bring his little soulings back.

That run- he mourns his loss.

Papyrus did not know what was wrong and took him to Alphys.

Sans had Fallen Down.

Frisk freed the monsters without Sans. They looked for him. And found him, but he was not the murderously monster he knew from the first hundred runs.

Once on the surface Papyrus did his best; he took care of his brother, who was now bound to a wheelchair, lifeless and unresponsive but still not dusted.

Somehow Papyrus managed to fall in love with him all over again... or perhaps he had always loved Sans and never saw it until then.

Sans reappeared blinking in shock, his strength renewed. It was now one year BF (before Frisk).

A True Reset.

This time Sans chose to play his part as normal. Waiting for them to get to the surface after many many and many normal resets and loads; he hinted that he knew about their little game.

Sans decided to keep his distance from Papyrus... but he could not stop the younger skeleton from falling in love... again. And Sans had trouble saying no to Papyrus... so once more he was carrying a souling within him.

Sans had known right away that this was not the same one as before. For that to happen, he needed to note the same time and place for them to come into existence. Of course Frisk's decisions could change their paths if they did not like the way things were heading, and he might no end up with this little one- since they kept the ability to load and continue.

Even the slightest change would cause his souling not to exist.

So Sans did everything in his power to save his souling. He followed Frisk around, trying to make them happy, and he went back to science, or rather his old hobby. Much to the confusion of poor Papyrus, who thought he was no longer loved by him since Sans spent his whole waking moments with the human or working.

Sans knew the time was coming when Frisk normally True Reset the world.

Without further delay, he powers up his machine, backing up his soul's data to include his souling. Now all he had to do was wait until the resetting happened, to see if it worked.

He was mourning the loss even before it happened. If his souling faded into nothingness again, he would kill himself he knew... Sans knew he could not take losing a second brew.

A True Reset.

Sans had found himself in his living room, sitting in front of the TV. A new channel had been make. Starring a killer robot.

He was further back in time. Perhaps more than a year BF.

Slowly he had stood, slowly he made his way to the stairs, slowly he climbed them, slowly he walks the landing and slowly he opens his bedroom door. Once inside he closes it- then he rushed to his mattress and flops down on it, sobbing his soul out.

He felt them. He had his souling and was ready to brew.

However, Sans knew he could not start brewing just yet.

Before he could settle down, he needed to be sure that Frisk never resetted again.

Sans hid his soulings using a similar method he uses for his blasters. Now their was unseen but not protected. So he went out of his way to be extra careful.

The next freedom happened.

And Sans could not say no to Papyrus and he ended up with another souling. Meaning he had two ready to brew- draining his soul and making him weaker. Still he did not start the brewing stage.

  
A True Reset: three soulings.

  
A True Reset: four soulings.

  
A True Reset: five soulings.

A True Reset: six soulings.

  
A True Reset: seven soulings.

  
A True Reset: eight soulings.

  
A True Reset: nine soulings.

  
...nine soulings now swam around his rib cage, some bigger than others, completely depended on him for everything since they had nobodies.

Sans blinks feeling dazed as the soulings quickly drink his magic reserves of his new self... old self? He glancing around his bedroom. It was looking a little cleaner than he could ever remember seeing it.

Sans sighs heavily as he ran a hand over his ribs; he had wondered just how aware they were.

Adding up the many lives he lived, most would be out of their stripes if they had a chance at life. And they might even found some way to take in their surroundings.

So with that thought in mind, he had begun teaching them all his knowledge, many resets ago; tailoring each lesson to where he thinks they would be if they aged.

It was keeping him sane...

Sans sighs heavily...

  
It was getting harder and harder to move his body.

'*i need to start brewing.' Sans thinks gritting his teeth, closes his sockets. Suddenly an idea came into his skull. When researching he came into contact with Alternate Universes. Speaking with other Sans through his machine.

During this time one of them had built a place in the Null Void, a place where other Sans could come and go as they please, to escape their sad existence even for a short period of time.

Sans stood and fell back down.

Somewhere in the house he could hear his brother's voice, it sounded like Undyne was over for the night. It had happened. The pair had just started to become good friends.

Closing his eyes he summoned his remaining magic and shortcutted to his lab. Once there he crawls to his machine and typed in the code. Sans grits his teeth- there was a problem with this. Time moved differently into this Null Void.

An hour there could mean a day in their own universe. Or a day there could mean an hour. It depended.

'*six years...' Sans thinks, gritting his sharp teeth, he climbs into the machine, 'i have six years to brew all of them... and perhaps they can live out their lives over there.'

  
The doors shut. And he switches a button. There was a hum and a buzz, then a beeping. A blast of hot whitewashes over him. On opening the doors, he held onto the frame to keep from standing.

He gazes around- he was not normally one to ask for help, but in this case, he would. For his soulings sake.

"*'ello?" Sans calls lightly, he drops to his kneecaps, then crack against the tiled flooring.

"*'ello?" A voice eerily familiar to his calls back.

"*i need help." Sans told the voice loudly,.

"*...ya asking for help? you?" The other continues, they step out from the shadows. Sans saw it was one of his other-selves. They looked just like him but not at the same them. It was UnderFell Sans. This Fell Sans looked unsure of himself and ready to cry, Sans had not seen a Fell Sans like this before.

"*yeah. help me." Sans calls out, his eyelights glowing weakly, he knew they was faded, "i'm gonna brew here otherwise."

"*wait! brew! here!" The Fell Sans cries out, sweat began to form on his brow, "let me get some of the Science Sanses."

"*wait! don't leav-" Sans tries to say, but the other was already gone. Glancing around, he notices that some chairs had been added since his last visit.

Each time a Sans came, they bought something with them. Some would bring chunks of rock or dirt to add to the floating island they had made here. In fact, he had taken some large bags of sand on one visit when he went to the seaside.

Once the little house becomes an island, the Sanses all decided that they would like their own houses. And as a Sans who remembers the True Resets, had already made a rather large one, since he had gathered a huge pile of gold and brought everything he needed.

One time he took with him monsters that knew how to build a house. Holding them capture for a short time; This happened over a course of hundreds upon hundreds of normal resets- and he did this until they completed the work.

Suddenly a small army of Science Sanses has surrounded him, he was picked up by blue magic and lifted his jumper up. There was a round of gasps at the amount.

Then he was moving, he sees many different Sanses as he passed, all watching him with wide eye sockets. It was not every day that a Sans brewed.

Sans felt his eye glow pastel red in embarrassment.

"*hey!" Sans growls out, looking around to see who had turned him blue. The Science Sanses were all talking at once in that same droning voice, making it hard to tell what was being said.

Sans blinks as he realizes they were taking him to the house he had built. Glad that one, they knew which Sans he was, and two they did not take him to some lab to brew

They open his front door and make their way to his bedroom, which was the master bedroom at the top of the stairs. They quickly place him there, and he quickly tries to sit up.

"*alright. a few Sanses have gone to grab some food. a lot of food. ya need to store up as much as ya can." A Science Sans tell him, adjusting his glasses, he stares down, "this is gonna take a good couple of years... will ya be brewing here the whole time. i'm guessing that why ya here... and with this number, it might be wise to do so."

"*yeah. that's what i was planning..." Sans told Sans, suddenly notices no one had made a pun or joke, was it had serious "how am i gonna do this?"

"*ya have a couple of options." Another Sans spoke up, standing beside Sans. "brew them all at once. or try and cut an amount off from the brewing stage and brew a bit at a time."

"*wow..f-darn it." Sans huffs out, he knew how some Sans hated a foul mouth so tried to keep it PG rated around here, not wanting them to give him a bad time over the matter.

"*whichever on ya choice." Yet another Sans said, standing next to Sans and Sans; Sans stares at him, waiting for him to continues, " it's gonna be hard. we all. that is. every sans that comes in might have to check up on ya."

"*this is gonna be f-blinking painful," Sans says with a sigh looking upset. Then he grins, "my bratlings are the best. so i'm sure they'll be fine. ... i think i'm gonna have to raise them here.. to be out of the resets."

"*we're gonna have a meeting." Sans with a strange navy beanie hat said, "we're gonna put a sign of the main board as ya come in. ya know. to make sure everyone is aware and onboard."

"*ya petty much abandon ya au sans." A Classic Sans says, looking at him with a deep frown, "how is ya papyrus gonna react?"

Suddenly every Sans began speaking in a dark undertone. No Sans should leave their Papyrus. It was just unthinkable.

  
  
"*these are papyrus's bratlings as well. make out of love." Sans told Sans firmly, "i ain't gonna let my papyrus's offspring died. not when there's a chance to save them."

The Sanses all nod they nods in agreement.

"*k. the first round is coming." Sans with the beanie said, staring out the window, "this would be so much easier if someone didn't code this null void au so that us sanses can't use our shortcuts."

There was another round of nods.

Sans blinks at the beanie hatted Sans, and realizes that he has a chef's whites on. This must be the one who from UnderKitchen, his au was completely gone by a Sans called Error Sans- Kitchen Sans escaped bringing his Papyrus with him but damning the rest of his au.

"*...am i gonna have to live here now." Sans suddenly says sadly, wondering if he should have grabbed his brother, "will i ever see my papyrus again?"

There was no answer. They fell silent at the thought of never seeing their brother again.

"*i know it's not much. but my papyrus knows about my little... adventures outside our au." A Classic Sans said told him, "i can bring him here to cheer ya up if i remember ya."

"*thanks." Sans replies with a sigh, he knew Sans was trying to help, but most Sanses have to be reintroduced after a True Reset, if they ever found their way back that was. There was a few Sanses like him, who remembered after a True one. These ones he was closest to, but they did not seem to be around at the moment.

"*....thanks..." Sans mumbles again, as the food comes through his door, "i gonna try and brew all at once... but there's nine of them and my body ya big enoug- what's that look for."

Three of the Science Sans was giving him a creepy grin.

"*well~" The three says in union.

"*do ya remember-" One Science Sans began. "*-that au with that Sans who-" The second Science Sans went on. "*-who could try into a blaster?" The last Science Sans who spoke finishes.

"*yeah. and?" Sans asks frowning at them, studying them each in turn.

"*that sans gave us the research the gaster used on him. to make him." An forth Science Sans told him, coming to stand with the three.

"*before ya brew." Yet another Science Sans, a fifth, said, "we can use that to make ya like him."

"*then ya have a bigger body to brew with." A sixth Science Sans says with a nod, as if he at last understood.

"*how about it?" The Classic Sans says grinning dully at him.

"*er...what about my brew?" Sans asks unsure about this, "will the blaster form be passed onto them."

The Science Sans began looking to each other, then together they shrugged.

"*ya sooo helpful." Sans huffs back but grins at them all the same, "k. fine. let's try that then."

"*don't worry. we already tested it once with a sans who wanted more power." The fifth Science Sans tells with, "It was a blast!"

Sans grins while others around him laugh.

Sans settles back, he watches as the Science Sanses began talking with each other, then he sees a Sans places food close by, he could feel the healing magic woven within it. Slowly he starts to eat, his soul quickly absorbed it, so he kept eatting.

"*k. we're gonna things perhaps." One of the Science Sans does, he did not know which one this was now, since they were filing themselves out of the room, "this sans is gonna check ya over. keep eating in the meantime."

Sans just nods slowly, his skull feeling heavy. He had just abandoned his au, his papyrus. Then a thought came to mind.

"*oi." Sans says turning to Sans, "do ya think others can take my place?"

"*wait what?" Sans says to Sans with a confused expression.

"*there's so many in and out. maybe they can take my role?" Sans explains, feeling a little down at the thought but did not want this papyrus to be alone.

"*i think we can... but ya papyrus, he's gonna feel something different." Sans goes on frowning deeply.

"*i know. but i don't want him to be alone." Sans told him firmly, holding his hands over his orbits and trying not to cry.

"*there's a way we can fast forward." Another Sans spoke up, the Sanses turn to this Sans.

"*huh? what do ya mean?" A Sans besides Sans says, not looking happy by this topic.

"*it's six years to go bf. that's what the data from this sans au says." The Sans hurries on, coming further into the room, it was a Classic Sans but had the Science Sans air around him, "there's a way to pull the last resets memories back. well. i mean is reset the reset... i think... i found a way for my asgore to remember only the reset before. i can try the same. but i have to forward a bit...in other words. wait the six years and then reset the memories. so they would have two sets of memories. one where ya there and one when ya not. also, i have never this on a whole au before..."

"*do it." Sans says not liking the idea of being forgotten, "please try."

"*k. then when this is finished. we sanses will take up ya role." The same Sans said, "thanks for letting me test this out."

"*heh. no worries." Sans said, "its only up to a certain point right? the memories. they won't remember the surface or frisk?"

"*no. only remember the point i chose. meaning. only the time ya gone for." Sans tells him, nodding along with his own words.

"*i'm taking a lot of risks. so yeah. do it." Sans says gently running a hand over his sternum.

"*thanks again." Sans says as he turns, "i'll let ya know the results once it happens. also. i try and line it up with the amount ya stay here. it seems for every day ya spend here a month goes by in ya world."

Sans moans at himself, one of the first things he should have done when entering here was to note the time difference. Quickly he tries to work it out. One day equals one month. So twelve months was twelve days. Now the six years. What are six twelve? Twelve times six? 72... so he would be 72 days to brew nine soulings into skeletons... 72 days was a little only three months.

Sans sighs deeply. He actually thought he had more time than that. That might be because the last time he came here an hour he was here a week went by in his au. He has forgotten it changes which time.

"*thanks for letting me know." Sans told him, "i didn't check."

"*don't know how this is going to work then." Sans with the idea admits, "we can only hope they have a few neutral runs while all this is going on."

The Sanses nods at this statement. It may be three months of the six years, but adding up the runs could bump up the days.

"*i'm gonna head over to the meeting." Another Sans spoke up, he was a odd cross of a Classic Sans and a Swap Sans, Sans did not know what au he was from, "and explain the latest events. see if we can get some sans to take over different runs."

"*thanks..." Sans says as he eats slowly, he could feel tears forming in his sockets.

"*k everymon. let's leave him to eat and rest." A Sans quickly speaks up when seeing how upset he was getting, no one Sans knew how to deal with a crying monster other than Papyrus, so they normally just ran for it. Sans did not hate them to leaving him to his misery, he would have done the same.

Soon they had all left with only himself remaining in the room he built himself 'years' ago.

A lot had happened.

A True Reset. Him abandoning his au. Leaving Papyrus behind. Starting to brew nine soulings. Turning into a blaster to make more room in his ribs for his soulings. Agreeing to let the last reset memories to be installed and no doubt making everyone confused. Making poor Papyrus confused. Then letting other Sanses take his place. Would Papyrus fall in love with another Sans during this time?

A sob could be heard and Sans was surprised to realize, this was him. Giving up would be so easy right now however with the soulings in his ribs, he knew he could not. They were proof of Papyrus's love for him. And he was not going to give up for their sake.

Sans lefts his skull and grabs some more food, he allows himself to cry as he forcefully ate. A determined look was lit in his eye sockets.

"*i'm gonna make it. it's gonna be ok." Sans tells his soulings, then spoke differently. "we're going to make it. we are gonna grow and be strong. just like papyrus. we are gonna believe. in not just ourselves but the sanses around us."

Sans closes his eye sockets, having his fill, then leans back into the pillows behind him. He stares up at the ceiling, thinking of Papyrus.


End file.
